On Monday, Oct. 12, head coach Jon Gruden of the Las Vegas Raiders resigned after emails including homophobic, racist and misogynistic verbage were released. 

Gruden was a highly-decorated coach and extremely influential in the National Football League. He won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002 as a head coach, and after retiring, he became a well-renowned NFL analyst. When the Las Vegas Raiders hired him in 2018, he returned to coaching. 

After barely missing the playoffs last year, the Raiders were off to a hot start this season. With Gruden’s abrupt resignation, plans have changed, leaving the Raiders scrambling. 

Gruden’s resignation statement included remorse and apologies for his actions. Raiders owner Mark Davis accepted Gruden’s resignation; the current interim head coach of the Raiders is Rich Bisaccia.

The NFL was investigating a separate case of misconduct and found Gruden’s emails in the mix, some of which were as old as a decade. 

Gruden’s vulgar remarks included comments on the appearance of female referees and cheerleaders in the NFL, the NFL’s drafting of gay players and the protesting of the national anthem by some NFL players. 

He also sent numerous emails to former president of the Washington Football Team Bruce Allen and used slurs to describe certain NFL players and staff. Additionally, he rudely targeted Roger Godell, the commissioner of the NFL, and made fun of the new rules that protected players and prevented them from injuries.